


Deserters

by SaraJaye



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Desertion, Escape, Explosions, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers, Grief/Mourning, Hugs, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Post-Fort Merceus, Promises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:06:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28564020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Sometimes there's more honor in living to see another day than in dying a needless death.
Relationships: Caspar von Bergliez/Linhardt von Hevring
Comments: 1
Kudos: 31
Collections: Hurt/Comfort Bingo - Round 11





	Deserters

**Author's Note:**

> For reference, Dorothea and Petra were the only ones who transferred to the Golden Deer. Sorry, Bernie and Ferdie. :( This also means Leonie either doesn't get her badass bow or she takes that paralogue for herself after Claude tells her about it.

Nobody sees the two retreating figures as Fort Merceus dies in a blast of light.

The sounds of falling rubble, screaming soldiers, the smell of smoke follow them as they run faster than they ever have in their lives, clutching their weapons, not stopping until they're well outside Bergliez territory. Linhardt collapses to his knees, heart pounding as he sucks in lungfuls of air.

They're covered with blood, Caspar moreso than himself. It's hard not to notice, but for once that's the last thing on his mind. Well, not necessarily, he'll need to look at Caspar's injuries and fix them up before they get infected, but as it is he can barely move right now.

Caspar, though...usually, he'd be leaping up and down shouting about how some random explosion couldn't best him, or at the very least looking smug. But long after Linhardt's own shock has worn off Caspar hasn't even moved or said anything. He just sits there, knees drawn to his chest, head buried in his arms.

"Hey." Linhardt nudges him. "Hey, we're okay now. We're-"

"It's gone." Caspar doesn't even look up. "I used to run around there and play all the time when I was a kid, and it's _gone._ " _Oh._ While Linhardt remembers a great deal of their childhood together, he doesn't remember playing in Fort Merceus. Usually because the idea of running around a fort bored him silly and he'd just sit there with a book while he watched Caspar enjoy himself.

"I'm sorry."

"I mean, we knew the Professor and the Alliance were gonna try to _capture_ the place, but even if they did it'd still be standing. Then those...those _things_ come outta nowhere, and-" His shoulders shake, and Linhardt puts a hand on his back. "Everyone else is _dead,_ everyone who survived after the Death Knight ran away."

"I know. I mean, we weren't exactly _best friends_ with everyone, but we fought beside them, trained with them, ate at the same table..." Linhardt sighs. "Now they're dead."

"Like Randolph," Caspar chokes, "and Fleche, too." Fleche was one of the many casualties of Gronder, taking up the mantle for her brother and Ladislava. _And tomorrow his father's marching towards Enbarr. Who knows if he'll make it out alive?_

The war has taken so much from Caspar. Fort Merceus was just a place-a fascinating historical site, yes, but still just a place. _But it's gone, just like so much of Caspar's family._

Caspar shivers, and Linhardt wraps his arm around him, mindful of both their wounds.

"We're alive, though." Caspar buries his face against his shoulder, wetting Linhardt's coat with his sorrow, and Linhardt hugs him tighter. "I know, I know. But listen, we're alive, we're gonna be okay." And the moment he says it he's made up his mind that they _will._ He's not sure how, right now everything's still so uncertain, but they didn't flee and survive an explosion just to stall death.

He and Caspar had always looked out for each other, Caspar punching the enemies away on the battlefield and Linhardt patching him up when he got in over his head. Linhardt's never had that "protective instinct" despite hating it when soldiers under his command died needlessly. "Protecting Caspar" usually meant pulling him back before he did anything stupid and dragging him off the field when he did it anyway.

He's never seen Caspar look this vulnerable and in need of reassurance.

"I should fix you up," he finally says. "You're still bleeding."

"Oh, right." Caspar rubs his nose on his glove. "Sorry, I know how you feel about that."

"It's fine." At least, the sight doesn't make him want to curl up and panic like it usually does. Who knew it would take Caspar breaking down to temporarily stem his hemophobia? He backs away just enough to take stock of Caspar's injuries and cast Heal before digging in his satchel for bandages and the herbal remedies Bernadetta had made for him before the march to Gronder.

_Before she sacrificed herself to protect her soldiers from Dimitri._

He tries not to think about that, or about a messenger bringing Ferdinand's lance and armor back after the battle at Myrddin. About how Hubert's not likely to survive Enbarr, and how Edelgard will sooner die than admit defeat even at the Professor's hands.

_Are we selfish for running? Isn't that just making their sacrifices meaningless?_ He shakes his head. _No. No, it's not selfish to want to live._

"There." He ties the last bandage in place. "That should hold for a while."

"Thanks." Caspar manages a tiny smile.

"No need for that." Linhardt wraps his arm around him again, pulling him close. "I meant what I said, too. We're gonna be fine."

"Yeah, I know. I mean, you're usually not _this_ determined, so if you're saying if you've gotta mean it." Linhardt chuckles.

"If you're poking fun at me again, you must be feeling better." Caspar shrugs.

"I guess I am, a little. I mean...I dunno where we're gonna go from here, but at least we're together."

Linhardt closes his eyes, resting his cheek against Caspar's hair.

"We always will be."


End file.
